Mystery Boat Aground in Baja

Readers Debbie and Dennis Monahan were on their annual Baja fishing trip out of Agua Verde in late February when they came upon this boat. It was ashore beneath the rocky cliffs of Punta San Marcial with a hole in the bottom. As you can see, the name on the transom was Hanalei, with a hailing port of Seattle. Dennis estimated the length to be in the low to mid-30 foot range, but didn't know the design. (The hull shape and stripes appear to be of C&C vintage, although we can’t be sure.) According to the panga guys Dennis talked to on February 28, the boat had gone ashore sometime the previous day after the solo skipper fell asleep. Reportedly, he had gathered together a few belongings, stepped off the boat and, as he was walking away, told the locals “Have at it!” or words to that effect. Dennis reports much of the gear had already been removed just a day after the grounding.

Monahan wasn’t able to get onto the local net for a couple of days after that, but when he did check in, the rumor was that the man who had walked away had been a delivery skipper contracted to take the boat from San Carlos to La Paz. And that the owner was more than a little upset at the turn of events. But by then, it was too late for Hanalei. On their way back to Agua Verde a week later, Dennis said the boat had been stripped of literally everything — and a huge rock had worked its way through the bottom.

We’ve polled the editors here, checked various article indexes and even gone through the records of the last few Baja Ha-Ha's, but could not find anything on a Seattle-based boat named Hanalei. So we’re stumped as to who she belonged to and how she really got in this sorry predicatment. Can anyone fill us in? Please contact JR if you have any further information.

- latitude / jr

Strictly Sail Pacific Opens Today

Sailors up and down the West Coast plan all year for "their" show, Strictly Sail Pacific at Oakland's Jack London Square, which will have opened by the time you read this today. Nowhere this side of the Mississippi can you climb aboard a larger fleet of sailboats or check out so much boat gear in one spot. And a full complement of seminars — including talks on the Baja Ha-Ha by "Grand Poobah" Richard Spindler on Friday and Saturday, and jumping the puddle to Tahiti by Senior Editor Andy Turpin on Saturday — will help you on your way to chucking it all and sailing into the sunset. Check out the full seminar schedule, then buy your tickets online to avoid long ticket lines and save a couple bucks.

First Two Clippers Reach Santa Cruz

April 16, 2008
– Santa Cruz, CA

The first two Clipper Round The World racers reached Santa Cruz this morning. Uniquely Singapore squeaked past Nova Scotia, finishing at 5:16 a.m. with the latter finishing at 5:51 a.m. despite leading when they both reached a parking lot off Santa Cruz overnight. They'd been locked in a tight, two-boat battle since Hawaii having sailed a more northerly course than the rest of the fleet and breaking free from the pack.

"It seemed like a lot of the crew had settled for second place at the end until we started to see the lights of Nova Scotia on the final approach," said Uniquely Singapore skipper Mark Preedy. "So we kept going as we knew we had a good chance of getting closer. We were the northerly boat so we had an advantage and when the wind died it was a bit of a free-for-all. . . the wind came the right way for us, and we took them just before the line."

The Clipper Race will be exhibiting at Strictly Sail Pacific today and this coming weekend. Representatives will be on hand to explain how prospective crew members can get onboard. To learn how you can become a crewmember in the next edition of the Clipper Round the World Race, contact David Cusworth.

- latitude / rg

Morning Light Previews Thursday Night

April 16, 2008
– Strictly Sail Pacific, Oakland

Producers Roy E. Disney and Leslie DeMeuse will be previewing scenes from Morning Light on Thursday night during the Strictly Sail Pacific boat show at Jack London Square in Oakland. The film chronicles the tryouts, selection and training of a group of 18- to 23-year old sailors charged with sailing the film's namesake Transpac 52 in last year's Transpac. Disney and DeMeuse will be presenting scenes from the film alongside two of the players — navigator Piet Van Os and crewmember Graham Brant-Zawadski. This will be the first — and likely only — West Coast sneak-peek of the project, due to be released later this year. Admission is open to Strictly Sail Pacific exhibitors and Thursday ticket-holders, and the program is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. in Waterfront Plaza Hotel's Spinnaker Room.

- latitude / rg

Crew Position on Profligate

After her 12th consecutive winter season in the tropics, it's time for Profligate, Latitude's Surfin' 63 catamaran, to head back to California. Capt. Doña de Mallorca, who is the skipper for all of Profligate's Baja Bashes, has her core crew of veterans, but may be able to take along one or two more.

This is an excellent opportunity for responsible individuals looking for more offshore experience and/or sea miles for Coast Guard licenses. This is not the right situation for novices.

De Mallorca plans to leave La Paz late next week for San Diego. Just so there is no misunderstanding, this is a delivery, not a pleasure sail, so the Yanmars will be rumbling as long as the weather is halfway decent.

If you're interested and want further information, call at Donna (415) 269-5165.